Former Australian batter Simon Katich has weighed in on the captaincy styles of Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma for India in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Notably, Rohit missed the series opener in Perth due to the birth of his second child. In his absence, Bumrah led the team from the front, claiming eight-wicket haul in the match to script India’s 295-run victory.
Rohit returned to lead the side in the second Test at the Adelaide Oval, where the visitors suffered an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat.
Speaking on the 'Around the Wicket' podcast, Katich opined that Bumrah’s use of his bowlers in Perth was far superior to Rohit in Adelaide.
"When you compare the two results, obviously, in Perth, Rohit Sharma missed out. And I thought Bumrah's captaincy, and particularly, the use of his bowlers in the length that they bowled, was far superior to what we saw in Adelaide. In Perth late on Day 1 when Australia were 7/67, India attacked the stumps and bowled much fuller and straighter lengths," Katich said.
The 49-year-old also suggested that Rohit needs to be a bit more proactive with his fast bowlers and must give them valuable feedback from the slip cordon.
“Whereas, when you look at the pitch map for Adelaide, on the night of Day 1, they were a lot shorter and wider, and around the 7-8 meter mark. So they missed a trick. Rohit Sharma was at first slip; he saw it all unfold. He needs to be a bit more proactive with his quicks when that's happening. Because Australia got out of jail in that session only being one down and as a result, went on to win the Test,” Katich remarked.
Meanwhile, India's crushing defeat in the pink-ball Test against Australia has complicated their World Test Championship (WTC) final qualification.
The Rohit Sharma-led side needs to win the ongoing series by a margin of 3-1 or 4-1 to qualify for the WTC final without depending on other teams.
After the Adelaide loss, India have slumped to third spot in the WTC standings with the points percentage of 57.29%. On the other hand, Australia continue to occupy the second spot with the percentage of 60.71%.
Meanwhile, South Africa have climbed to the pole position after beating Sri Lanka with a 2-0 margin. The Proteas, having a points percentage of 63.33%, need one more win to qualify for the summit clash, slated to be held at the iconic Lord’s next year.
